There's no denying it — today, it's fashionable to hate carbs! While most of us can stand to benefit from eliminating some carbs from our diet (especially if you're one of the millions of people worldwide with diabetes — 29 million in the U.S. alone)[1], it's important to understand how to do this safely before starting. By calculating your optimal daily carb intake and keeping close track of the food you eat, it's possible to reduce your carbs and even meet other health goals like losing weight at the same time, so get started today!

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Steps

Method 1 of 2: Keeping Track of Your Carbs

1

Use am online calculator to find your recommended intake. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests a 300 gram carbohydrate intake for people who eat about 2000 calories per day.[2] However, this estimate isn't ideal for everyone — for instance, larger and more active people may be able to tolerate more. To get a more accurate picture of what you should be eating, use a carb calculator. These are easy to find online with a simple search engine query.

This calculator from the University of Maryland Medical System is a good place to start. It takes into account your age, sex, height, and activity level to give you an accurate estimate.

If you're trying to cut the amount of carbs you're eating, you will probably want to shoot well below your recommended intake level. Most medical low-carb diets typically contain between 60 and 130 grams.[3]

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2

Check for carbohydrates on the label of everything you eat or drink. Once you have an idea of your target carb intake, you will want to start keeping track of the carbs in everything you consume each day. For packaged foods, this means checking the Nutrition Facts label. Most labels will have the amount of carbohydrates in one serving listed under "Total Carbohydrate" in grams.

Don't forget to check the serving size, which you'll find directly beneath the "Nutrition Facts" banner. Small serving sizes can be tricky — you may be eating more carbs than you realize!

3

Carefully measure loose food. Not all food comes in handy individual packages. For items like liquids, bulk cereals, and other "loose" foods, it's smart to determine the amount of food you're eating by measuring it manually, then comparing this to the nutrition label on the box or carton. You may be surprised that what you thought was one serving was actually two or more!

For dry unpackaged food, like cereal, fruit, and so on, use a food scale. Place a container on the scale, note the weight reading, then add your food. The difference between the two values is the weight of your food.

Use an estimation system when you don't have a label. Sometimes, like at restaurants and dinner parties, it's impossible to determine exactly how many carbs you're eating. In these cases, it's necessary to visually estimate the amount of food on your plate. This way, you can record your estimate and look up carb values later. The following estimates come from the American Heart Association:[4]

One serving of pasta or rice is generally about one cup (175 grams), which is about the size of a baseball.

One serving (or one slice) of bread should be a little bigger than the size of a cassette tape.

One serving of green/leafy vegetables is one cup, or about the size of a small fist. Other types of vegetables and vegetable juices usually have servings of 1/2 cup.

One serving of dairy (milk and yogurt) is about one cup — roughly the size of a baseball. One serving of cheese is about the size of six stacked dice.

One serving of most meats is about three ounces (85.048 grams) — about the size of a deck of cards.

5

Use an online food database to fill in gaps in your knowledge. Can't figure out how many carbs are in a specific type of food (like, for instance, a piece of fruit?) Try signing up with a free online food resource or dieting app — with these, it's easy to search for foods and receive nutrition information instantly. Best of all, these sorts of sites usually allow you to record your daily intake and monitor your progress over time, making them great for weight-loss diets.

Method 2 of 2: Eating a Sensible Low-Carb Diet

1

Eat plenty of lean protein. Generally, for people on a low-carb diet, protein replaces carbohydrates as the central feature of the diet. Proteins are fairly filling and provide fuel for muscle growth, making this a favorite source of nutrition for athletes. Best of all, protein (as well as fat) has a minimal effect on the body's glycemic load, which means that protein will not contribute to diabetes.[5]

Healthy protein sources include lean cuts of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and certain vegetables (like spinach.) Beans, lentils, and legumes are also good protein sources but also contain carbs.[6]

Try to stick mainly to lean sources of protein. Fattier sources of protein, like greasy cuts of meat, don't typically contain carbohydrates but can be calorie-dense, contributing to weight gain.

2

Eat healthy fats. Contrary to popular belief, some types of dietary fat are quite nutritious in moderate quantities. Healthy fats provide plenty of nutrients in addition to long-lasting energy while keeping calorie levels manageable. Some fats, like those that contain omega-3 fatty acids, even provide valuable health benefits that are difficult to get from other nutrition sources.[7]

Healthy fat sources include most nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, canola, and most types of fish.

On the other hand, unhealthy fat sources include butter, lard, heavy greases and oils, mayonnaise, cheese, and rich desserts like candy and ice cream.

3

Emphasize natural and complex carbohydrates. A low-carb diet doesn't need to be a no-carb diet. In fact, cutting carbs entirely out of your diet can have some significant health repercussions (see below for more information.) While maintaining a low-carb diet, however, you'll want to make sure that as many of the carbs you eat as possible are complex carbohydrates. These carbohydrates take longer for the body to break down and generally tend to contain more important nutrients, making them more nutrition-dense per gram of carb than other carb sources.

Avoid refined and simple carbohydrates. While some carbs are OK on a low-carb diet, some should be almost entirely off-limits. These carbs, referred to as "simple" or "refined" carbs, are generally quick for the body to break down and have fewer important nutrients. This means that they're not an efficient use of your carb calories — for each gram of carbs you eat, you're getting more sugar and less actual nutrition.

Stay away from sugary snacks and drinks. When it comes to carbohydrates, there are good carbs, there are bad carbs, and there are carbs you should avoid at all costs. Sugar-filled desserts and snack foods fall into this category — not only are they loaded with carbohydrates and calories, but they're also essentially devoid of any "real" nutrition. This means that they shouldn't be a frequent part of any diet, let alone a low-carb one.

6

Aim for a calorie deficit if you intend to lose weight. It's important to remember that reducing your carb intake will not necessarily cause you to lose weight on its own. The rate at which you gain or lose weight is determined by your calorie intake — not your carb intake. Eat more calories than you burn each day, and you'll gradually gain weight. Eat fewer than you burn, and you'll lose weight.

Thus, if you're aiming to lose weight with your new diet, you'll want to count your calories as well as your carbs. See our calorie-counting guide to get started.

7

Understand the risks of a very-low carb diet. Dealing with carbs in your diet is trickier than many health magazines might have you believe. While many people can stand to benefit from cutting the amount of carbs they consume, it can also be unhealthy to cut carbs entirely. According to the American Heart Association, it is unwise to eat a diet that relies entirely on proteins and fats for its calories (like, for instance, extreme versions of the Atkins diet).[9] Doing this can deprive the body of vital nutrients that the body can only get from carbohydrates. In addition, eating many fat-rich foods (which many sources of animal protein tend also to be) has been linked to heart disease, stroke, and several other serious health problems.

For most people, the healthiest diet is a moderate, balanced one that incorporates some amount of healthy carbohydrates, lean protein, and modest amounts of fats. There is, unfortunately, no "easy" path to weight loss.

However, if you have certain health conditions like diabetes, you may indeed need to monitor your carb intake more carefully than an ordinary balanced diet would call for. Consult with your doctor before making any major changes in your diet.

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Please be as detailed as possible in your explanation. We will take your detailed information, edit it for clarity and accuracy, and incorporate it into an article that will help thousands of people.Don't say: Eat more fats.Do say: Add fats with some nutritional value to the foods you already eat. Try olive oil, butter, avocado, and mayonnaise.

Tips

Try recording your progress each day to keep yourself on track. You can use a journal, a tablet, or a file on your computer to store your calorie intake each day, which should help motivate you to stick to your diet.

Can't stand to say goodbye to all of your favorite carbs at once? Try removing one serving of carbs from your daily diet each week — you'll barely notice the change, and after a month or two you'll have put a serious dent in your carb intake.